Spooky looking Houston mansion has found a buyer

By Craig Hlavaty |
May 20, 2014
| Updated: May 20, 2014 2:30pm

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Craig Hlavaty / Houston Chronicle

This spooky, goth-friendly mansion in the 2300 block of Wichita is considered the dream home of sorts with a spooky side. It finally sold for between $250,000 and $285,000

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

Photo By Houston Association of Realtors

How hot is the Houston real estate market? An unfinished Houston mansion that looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie has reportedly been sold for nearly double the asking price.

When it went back on the market a couple of months back, the goth-friendly mansion was the toast of social media. It was a dream home of sorts for those with a spooky side, and if they had $150,000 to spend.

According to the Houston Area Realty site's sale report available online, it sold for between $250,00 and $285,000. Neither Realtor Alfonso Parodi nor new owner Nick Ugarov would disclose the exact sale price, but Ugarov said Tuesday that he was the 17th person to make an offer on the house.

The house is located at 2309 Wichita, just east of Texas 288 near Dowling St., and was scooped up by Deutsche Bank following the 2011 death of its owner, who never completed a 31-year renovation and expansion project.

"I probably paid too much because I wanted it so badly," he laughed.

Ugarov said he's still mulling over plans for the Riverside Terrace property, but made it clear he doesn't want demolish it. The real estate investor buys older properties like this and renovates them.

Ugarov knows its place as a Houston landmark, and says a lot of people stop by and take pictures while he is on the property. He first inquired about the house about a year ago after seeing it on his way home one evening.

Previous owner Charles Fondow was a dedicated DIY handyman who didn't get to finish his vision of the house before dying in 2011. Since then, the house's future had been in limbo.

"It's such an unusual house and project," Ugarov said of the 4,861 square-foot, five-bedroom pad. "There is a finished part and an unfinished part of the house."

Ugarov says that it will take him a few weeks come up with a new floor plan to find the best way to preserve it or make it better.

"I like to mix the old trends with new trends," he said. The house had been vandalized at one point, he says, so he will need to take steps to secure it.

"I am passionate about bringing old homes back to life," said Ugarov. "Compared to the other houses I purchase, this is a very unique, high-profile home."